As Pachelbel's Canon in D major filled the shop with
slow, measured violin music, Kira McManus deftly adjusted a gear inside of a
gorgeous Patek Philippe moon-phase pocket-watch and smiled as it fell into place.
She made a few more minute adjustments, and then put the watch back together.
She left it on the placemat and reached behind herself to wipe her fingers on
a handkerchief. She turned the watch over and examined the face. Gold roman
numerals lined the outer edge, along with another set of odd numbers written
in red ink. There were three inlays in the center of the watch face, showing
month, day, and the phase of the moon.

There were days when she would have hyperventilated at the
sight of this watch crossing her counter. There had been times when, stuck with
servicing yet another regular, run-of-the-mill pocket watch, she had thought
about all the amazing chronographs floating around in the world and praying
that one would somehow find her. Now she was holding one of those coveted pieces,
and her mind was only peripherally on work.

Her true prayers for a unique, luxury watch had been answered
a few weeks ago when a 1947 Ulysse Nardin pocket-watch walked into the shop.
That alone should have made her week, her month, her decade. And it would have,
but for the simple fact of who had been carrying the watch.

Kira took off her magnifying glasses and focused on the Patek
Philippe in her hands. It was a gorgeous piece. The owner was a lawyer
from the mainland who owned a cottage on the island. He had wandered in to the
shop a few days before while waiting for the ferry to arrive. The watch was
basically just for show and hadn't run in ages, he explained. If there was any
way she could make it work again he would be greatly obliged. He dropped it
off on his next trip to the island and he was due to pick it up in three hours.

His pick-up was her last scheduled appointment for the day.
She usually didn't close down shop until seven or eight at night, spending the
last few hours doing paperwork in the office if no one came in and there were
no watches to work on. But lately things had been different. Her schedule had
changed dramatically. All thanks to that damn Ulysse Nardin watch and its owner,
Hannah Talbot.

Kira stored the Patek Philippe in the safe until the owner
came by to pick it up, wiped her hands one more time, and went into the office.
She remembered, while apprenticing at the shop under her father, a time when
the office had been a maelstrom of paperwork, order forms and appointment books.
Her father had always shrugged at the clutter and said it balanced the universe.
"A royal mess in the office, the king of cleanliness in a watch."
And it was true. The man who couldn't remember to put an order form in the filing
cabinet was the epitome of care while working on the delicate gears of a watch.
Not a speck of dust could get into the works, not the tiniest hair that would
eventually gum up the works.

The first thing Kira had done upon taking over the shop was
organizing the office. The roll-top desk was tidy, and she knew without looking
that the insides of the drawers were neat, tidy and alphabetically accurate.
Her pens stood in a coffee cup on her desk, blank paper for the printer stacked
neatly at the back of the desk next to her blotter. The small tools that she
didn't keep in the front of the shop were safely tucked away in their drawers.
She knew where each one was without having to search. As she walked into the
room, she ran her hand over the top of the computer monitor and clapped the
dust off her palm before sitting down.

She planned to spend the rest of her afternoon filling out
order forms on the things the shop was low on. She needed more lubricants and
graphite powder to begin with. She was in the middle of the last form when the
bell over the front door rang. She checked one of the clocks on the wall and
saw the Patek Philippe owner was early. She pushed away from the chair and said,
"Hi. Your watch is... oh."

Hannah Talbot smiled from the doorway. "What about my
watch?"

"Nothing, no. I thought you were someone else."
Kira was aware she had been caught in a blush and looked away. She still felt
nervous around Hannah, afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing. They had been
on two dates, once to dinner and once to the movies, but Kira had been too nervous
to enjoy herself either time. At the end of their second date, Hannah leaned
in for a kiss and Kira tensed. Hannah changed tactics at the last second and
pecked her cheek instead.

Hannah had looked disappointed and a little rejected, so Kira
had asked for a third date right then and there, the first time she ever asked
a woman out. The fact that this particular woman had already asked her
out twice did nothing to make it easier. Hannah, of course, agreed, and now
all the clocks in the shop were fast ticking toward their evening together.

There was still an hour to go until Kira's last appointment,
and they weren't due to meet for another hour after that. But here Hannah stood,
dressed for work in a red jacket and skirt and a cream blouse. Her blonde hair
was up, but loosely so that a few strands hung down around her ears. Kira scratched
her nose, stepped closer to the counter and forced herself to meet Hannah's
gaze. "Hi. I didn't think you were coming by until later."

"That was the plan, but I got done early. I thought I
would drop by and..." She stopped mid-sentence and Kira realized she was
stumbling for words as well. For some reason, knowing that Hannah was just as
uncomfortable as she was gave Kira strength.

"Do, do you want a tour of the shop?"

"Sure," Hannah said, visibly relieved to be rescued.
She stepped to the space between two glass display counters and, after a brief,
reverent hesitation, stepped into the workspace. She looked toward the front
of the shop and took in Kira's stool, the hidden shelves of supplies, receipt
forms, and other sundry bits of business that usually stayed out of sight. Hannah
smiled and looked at the myriad of tools that lined the shelf behind Kira's
stool. "What's that?" she said, pointing to something at random.

"Otherwise the watch won't run correctly if you, you
know, swing your arm or hold it at an odd angle."

"Oh! I understand." She scanned the rest of the
tools and Kira patiently identifying everything Hannah pointed to. The jewelling
set, the staking and depthing tools. Hannah pointed to a small tool that resembled
an ancient microscope, with a clip instead of a glass lens. "And that?"

"Luthy hairspring vibrator."

Hannah laughed. "It's called a vibrator?"

Kira's face flushed. "What? No. No, I didn't say... I-I
meant... it's a Luthy hairspring vibrating tool. I don't, I don't use
it much. But it makes sure that a spring is strong and long enough for a watch."
She pushed her hair out of her face and wished she could kick herself. Vibrator.
God, what the hell was I thinking?

Hannah smiled and decided her tour was over. She said, "This
is all so amazing. I'm awed that you can do all... this."

Kira shrugged. "It's kind of a lost art, these days.
People would rather buy a throw-away digital watch and then replace it with
a twin when it dies six months later."

"It's a shame," Hannah said. She reached into the
pocket of her suit jacket and withdrew the pocket-watch. She flipped it open,
showed the face to Kira and said, "Still works fine."

"You decided to keep it." Hannah had originally
brought the watch in so she could make sure it worked when she sold it. But
Kira's admonition about the value of the watch had given her pause. She was
extremely pleased to see Hannah still had it.

Hannah nodded and looked down at the watch face. She closed
it and put it back into her pocket. "It's kind of a quirky character trait.
I'm showing someone a house, I pull out a pocket-watch to check the time. It's
somehow not quite as rude as looking at your wrist."

"Or, God forbid, your cell phone."

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Yes. The world got a little
less classy when people stopped wearing watches all the time."

Kira leaned against the counter and hugged herself, cupping
her hands over her elbows. She had started falling into a comfortable rapport
with Hannah, but the second she realized how comfortable she was, the awkwardness
came back. Hannah obviously sensed it and said, "Hey, look. I like you.
I like that you can be sweet and cute and awkward and nervous. So you don't
have to worry about saying the wrong thing or boring me."

"Well, if I don't focus on not making a fool of myself,
I... I really don't know what to do with my mind."

Hannah laughed. "I guess I'll just have to keep your
mind busy with other things. Do you have time to grab a late lunch? Or I could
bring you something and we could eat it here."

The idea of having food in the shop triggered an echo of the
past from her father, who was absolutely adamant about keeping cookies, juice
boxes, sandwiches, anything that could leak, drip, crumb or spill was banned.
Kira pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "I-I would like that.
Um, I'm waiting for a customer, so we'd have to eat here, in the office..."

"Okay. Any preference?"

"No, whatever you... whatever you get."

Hannah nodded and said, "All right. I'll be back in a
few minutes." She slipped from behind the counter and headed for the door.
As the bell jingled, she turned back and waved good-bye before stepping out
into the street.

Alone again, Kira relaxed and sagged against the counter.
She shook her head at her behavior and went into the office. The room was cramped,
but she was sure that there was enough room for them to have a meal together.
She hurried upstairs to her apartment and returned with two wineglasses and
a sheet. She wasn't sure what kind of drinks Hannah would get, and she knew
that it wouldn't be wine, but she felt the glasses were a nice touch.

She pushed her chair under the desk, spread out the sheet
on the ground and put the wine glasses on the desktop. She shook her head and
muttered under her breath, "You're such an idiot. She's going to laugh
in your face."

Kira busied herself with paperwork, standing up rather than
pulling the chair out and ruining the picnic spread she had made, and nearly
hit the ceiling when the bell over the door sounded again. She went to the front
of the shop and deflated a little when she saw it was just a customer, the owner
of the Patek Philippe watch. She smiled and said, "Hello, Mr. Davis. I've
got your watch ready to go."

She removed the watch from the safe and handed it over to
him for inspection. As he was writing out the check to her, the door opened
again and Hannah came in. A bag with two Styrofoam boxes hung from the fingers
of her left hand, and she held a drink caddy with two cups with the fingers
of the other. She saw the customer, nodded her chin toward the office and Kira
nodded. She took the check from Mr. Davis, filled out his receipt and handed
it back to him. "There you go. Enjoy your watch."

"I will, thank you." He smiled, took off the digital
watch he was wearing and replaced it with the Patek Philippe. Kira smiled at
the sight of the ten-dollar piece of plastic disappearing into the pocket of
his slacks. She thanked him again for his patronage and waited until he was
outside before she went to the door and locked it. She flipped the sign around
to closed and pulled down the blind. She shut off the overhead lights and went
into the office.

Hannah's feet were bare, her high heels tucked against the
side of the desk, and she was sitting with her legs curled up under her. Kira
smiled and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Hi."

"Hi," Hannah said. She gestured at the layout. "Nice
little picnic you set up for us."

"I didn't... um... it's just..."

"It's lovely. Thank you. We'll just have to do this again
sometime outside. We live in paradise; it's almost a shame to waste this inside."

Kira said, "Oh. Do you want to go now? I mean, I'm closed
for the day anyway. It's..."

"No, this is fine. We'll just do an outside picnic on
our fourth date."

Kira froze in the process of sitting down. She recovered,
knelt across from Hannah, and said, "So there will be a fourth date? Tonight
is our third date. Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves?"

Hannah shrugged. "I have a good feeling." She had
transferred their sodas from the plain white to-go cups from the restaurant
to the wineglasses. It looked silly, but Kira was touched by it just the same.
"What did you get for us?"

"Burgers and fries. Hope you don't mind. It's kind of
pedestrian, what with wineglasses and the picnic..."

"It's perfect. Burgers and fries are perfect picnic food."
She rearranged herself into a more comfortable position and flipped open the
top of her Styrofoam tray. The burger was disassembled, with the lettuce, pickles,
onions, and tomatoes set to one side for her to decide which to use. She lifted
the meat to see that mayonnaise, not ketchup, had blended with the melted cheese.
She smiled. "You got these from Duck Soup Diner."

Kira put her burger together, leaving off everything but the
lettuce and tomatoes, and they began eating. They were comfortable in their
silence, but every now and then Kira would ask a question or make a comment,
just to make conversation. She was halfway done with her burger when she looked
at the clock mounted over her desk. She smiled, laughed and said, "I just
realized. I'm supposed to meet you in an hour and ten minutes so we can go to
dinner."

Hannah laughed. "Well, we better eat fast, then."

"I'm just saying that, if you wanted to call this
our date, I would be fine with that. If you don't mind, you know, having a date
with someone who hasn't showered or changed into something nicer."

Hannah said, "You look plenty nice."

Kira looked down at herself and plucked the tan blouse away
from her chest. She shrugged and shook her head. "If you say so."
Before Hannah could insist she looked good, she changed the subject. "How
was work? Did you, um, have to show... houses?" She closed her eyes and
looked down at her food.

"Yeah, a couple," Hannah said. There was laughter
in her voice, but Kira knew it wasn't aimed at her. She looked up and Hannah
continued, "I showed this great little cottage with a view of the harbor.
If you want, I could take you out sometime and show you a few places that are
reasonably priced."

Kira shook her head. "No, that's... I mean, I like my
apartment." She nodded toward the ceiling. "But... we could, you know,
drive around and look at houses anyway. I love walking around in empty houses
and imagining... people... living in..." She shook her head and said, "No,
never mind."

"No, I do the same thing. Why do you think I became a
real estate agent? There's just something special about being in a completely
empty house."

"Potential."

"Right! There's potential in all the rooms. You can't
help but imagine people living in them, building lives."

Kira nodded and focused on her burger. "Um, you know,
we didn't... about dinner tonight. If you would rather call it off, that's fine
by me."

"No," Hannah said. "I know we planned for dinner
but, since we just ate, we could do something else."

"Like what?" Kira asked. She took a bite of her
burger.

Hannah shrugged. "Bowling. We could drive around, like
you suggested. And hey, it is our third date. We could just go upstairs and
have sex."

Kira's throat closed up. She coughed violently, her face going
red from lack of oxygen as well as embarrassment. Hannah jumped up and moved
around behind Kira. She wrapped her arms around Kira's midsection, positioned
her hand and pressed. Kira covered her mouth, coughed out the obstruction and
wrapped it in a napkin. Her eyes were tearing up, her face was on fire and she
was gasping for breath as Hannah moved in front of her. "Are you all right?
My God. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She brushed Kira's hair out of
her face. "Are you okay?"

Kira managed to nod and coughed to clear her throat. She nodded
again and said, "I'm fine."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... blurted it out like that."

Kira looked into Hannah's eyes and saw so many emotions there;
embarrassment, worry, anxiety, fear. Everything rattling around inside of her
was reflected in Hannah's eyes. Again, she was dumbfounded at the idea that
this woman, this amazing, beautiful, brilliant woman, could possibly be feeling
anxious about being with her, Kira, the quiet little watchmaker who seldom
left the building where she lived and worked except to do errands.

Hannah moved her hands to Kira's cheeks and said again, "Are
you sure you're okay?"

Kira's plan with relationships had always been that it was
better to be safe than sorry. Now, with Hannah sitting so close in front of
her, hands warm on her cheeks, she realized how stupid that idea was. How pointless
it was. Better to ask forgiveness than beg permission, and better sorry than
safe. She put her hands on Hannah's cheeks, leaned in and kissed her lips. Hannah
made a muffled surprised sound, but then slid her hands to the back of Kira's
head. She laced her fingers together and tilted her head, deepening the kiss.
Kira kept her lips closed, so Hannah eased them apart with a few deft stroked
of her tongue. Kira whimpered, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her hands trembling
where they rested against Hannah's face.

When the kiss finally broke, Kira turned her head away. She
pressed her cheek against Hannah's so she wouldn't have to look her in the eye.
"I'm sorry."

"Why? Are you not planning to do that again?"

Kira pulled back and looked at Hannah's lips. God, she wanted
to kiss her again. Hannah took the option away from her by kissing her instead.
Kira's eyes were drawn up to Hannah's furrowed brow and she moved her hands
to the shoulders of Hannah's jacket. Kira gasped with surprise when their lips
parted and immediately kissed Hannah again. She felt Hannah's tongue against
hers and moaned, then slid her hands hesitantly down Hannah's chest.

She parted the halves of her jacket and put her hands against
the smooth material of her blouse. Hannah moaned and arched her back into the
caress and Kira suddenly found both of her hands were full. She felt the material
of Hannah's bra through the blouse, her heart pounding, and suddenly wanted
her so badly she couldn't think.

When they parted, Hannah said, "Upstairs?"

"No," Kira said. She moved her hands to the collar
of Hannah's blouse and undid the top button. Hannah pushed their food aside,
picked up one wineglass and put it on the desk, then reached back to get the
other. Her hands trembled with each tiny, off-white button she loosened. She
was focused on the material so she wouldn't get frozen by the sight of Hannah's
slowly-exposed flesh.

Hannah shrugged out of her jacket, balled it up and dropped
it on the sheet. She untucked her blouse, looped her fingers around Kira's wrist
and leaned back. Kira was forced down with her, and found herself lying on top
of Hannah. Hannah lifted her head, fanned out her hair so it wasn't pinned under
her shoulders, and rested her head on her jacket.

Kira looked into Hannah's eyes, then spread the two halves
of her shirt. She moved her hand over Hannah's smooth stomach, then up to her
peach-colored bra. She was having trouble catching her breath as she watched
Hannah's breasts rise and fall, as she watched the red flush rise from mid-chest
to throat. She met Hannah's gaze and reminded herself that, for some reason,
Hannah was just as nervous as she was.

They kept eye contact as Kira bent down and placed a kiss
to Hannah's belly. She parted her lips and dragged her tongue up toward Hannah's
cleavage, cautious as if she expected the skin to scald her. She kissed the
bow between the cups of Hannah's bra and then sat up. She reached around Hannah,
who lifted herself so Kira could work. She fumbled with the clasp, finally managed
to get it loose and Hannah shrugged out of the shoulder straps.

Kira pulled the bra straps off Hannah's shoulders and bent
down to kiss her neck. Hannah shed the brassiere and tossed it aside, then drew
Kira's hands to her breast. Kira whimpered and closed her hands around them,
finding the nipples and teasing them gently. She kissed her way down, eyes closed,
and replaced her hand with lips. She kissed the slope of one breast, then brushed
the nipple with her lips. She circled it with her tongue, kissed it, sucked
and lightly nibbled on it. Hannah's sighs were raw, desperate, and Kira settled
between her legs. She pushed Hannah's skirt up, suddenly too eager to think
about being timid. She pressed herself against the crux of Hannah's legs and
switched to the other nipple. She finally opened her eyes and examined Hannah's
bare chest. Pale, like porcelain, with light pink nipples begging to be tasted.
She closed her lips on one and Hannah pressed her hips against Kira.

Kira released the nipple and brushed her tongue along the
inside curve of Hannah's breast. She tasted something salty that she at first
took to be sweat, but then realized her tears had dripped on Hannah's chest.
She brought one hand up and quickly swiped at her eyes, hoping Hannah hadn't
seen, and then moved her hand between them. She pushed Hannah's skirt out of
the way and rubbed her knuckles against the inside of Hannah's thigh.

Hannah sat up and rested herself on Kira's lap. She put one
arm around Kira, holding herself up, and looked into her eyes. Kira swallowed
hard, knowing her eyes were still wet and red, and moved her hand between Hannah's
legs. Hannah gasped as Kira touched her, and her eyes drifted shut. She swallowed
and Kira found herself mesmerized by the movement of her throat. She leaned
in and kissed her neck, focused on that as two of her fingers rubbed Hannah
through her panties.

As Hannah rocked against Kira, she moved her hands to the
collar of Kira's shirt and undid the first three buttons. She couldn't go any
further, because she needed both hands to keep herself from falling, so Kira
used her free hand to work the buttons. It was a deft balancing act, but they
managed it. Hannah pushed the shirt off Kira's shoulders once it was unbuttoned
and Kira blushed at the realization she was wearing a plain, regular cotton
bra. It should have been lace, should have been black or red, something other
than this.

The best thing to do, she figured, was to get it out of sight
as quickly as possible. "Take it off," she gasped. She bent forward,
her head against Hannah's chest, as Hannah reached back to undo the clasp. She
slumped her shoulders forward and shook slightly to get it down her arms. She
tossed it aside and then Hannah pushed her back so she could get a good look.

Kira's breasts were spotted with light brown freckles, hidden
slightly by a meager tan. Her nipples were large and dark, and she fought the
urge to cross her arms over her chest to hide them. Hannah put one hand on Kira's
breast, covered the nipple with her palm and squeezed gently. "Kira..."

They remained still for a moment, other than the slow, steady
explorations of their hands. Then Hannah whispered, "Inside of me. Please..."

Kira swallowed, worked her fingers to pull Hannah's underwear
aside, and touched her labia with two fingertips. Hannah grunted, licked her
bottom lip and nodded. She pulled her legs in tight against Kira's side and
lifted her hips. Kira brushed her fingers across the wet lips, getting them
nice and lubricated, and then folded two fingers together like someone telling
a lie. She leaned forward and pressed her face to Hannah's chest, inhaling her
scent as she pushed her fingers inside.

Hannah grunted, groaned and sank down onto her. Kira gasped
at the sensation and extended her thumb. "Can I... can I..."

"Whatever you want," Hannah gasped. "You can
do whatever you want to me."

Kira shivered and brushed her thumb into the curls she had
yet to see. She pressed, explored, searched until she found the little bud of
Hannah's clit peeking out from its hood. She pressed, then circled it until
Hannah's breathing became ragged. "Harder," Hannah gasped, breaking
the word into two syllables with a breath between. Kira didn't know how to go
harder, but she tried. She thrust her hand against Hannah, circling her clit
again during each pass.

"I'm coming, Kira..."

Kira kissed Hannah's throat and continued to thrust into her
until Hannah said, "Stop, stop, okay."

Kira pulled her hand free and Hannah slumped down to kiss
her lips. They rearranged themselves, Hannah guiding them down to the floor.
She pulled her jacket over and pushed it under Kira's head, offering her a pillow,
and then kissed her way down Kira's chest. She teased the nipples with her tongue,
circled Kira's belly button, and then undid the button of Kira's pants. Kira
could barely catch her breath as she watched, her mind foggy, her thoughts occupied
with the sight of Hannah on her knees, bowed forward, tugging her pants down
her legs.

And, of course, she was wearing embarrassingly ordinary panties,
too.

Hannah quickly remedied that by pulling them down to her ankles
with her pants. Kira was still wearing her shoes, and there was no time to untie
them and get them off. Hannah bowed again and kissed her way back up Kira's
legs, pausing at the inside of her knees, the smooth expanse of her thigh. She
brushed her face through Kira's copper-colored pubic hair and then brought her
hands up.

She used her thumbs to part the lips, and Kira moaned. She
brought her own hands up and clasped them on top of her head, blocking her face
with her arms as if she was under assault. She lifted her legs and parted them
as well as she could while shackled by her pants. Hannah settled between Kira's
legs and pressed the flat of her tongue against the warm, pink flesh her thumbs
had exposed.

Hannah moaned, partly from arousal, partly to send the vibrations
through Kira. Kira's body jerked and her legs tightened. She lifted her feet
off the floor and pushed her hands into Hannah's hair. "I'm... oh..."

Hannah dug her fingers into Kira's hips and held her tight.
She pressed her lips tight against Kira, kept her tongue deep inside, and tasted
her juices.

When her climax faded, Kira lowered herself to the floor.
She wiped at her eyes and soon became aware of Hannah kissing her way up her
body. Kira turned her head when Hannah reached it and they kissed, slowly, lazily.
Hannah slipped her tongue into Kira's mouth and smoothed the hair away from
her forehead. Kira swallowed and shyly averted her eyes, but Hannah nudged her
chin until they were looking at each other again.

"That was... some Heimlich maneuver."

Hannah frowned, then her lips spread in a wide smile. "You
liked that, did you?"

Kira nodded, and smiled. "Very effective."

"Well, I do what I can."

Hannah rested her head on Kira's chest, then said, "Oh,
God." She pulled her coat out from under Kira's head, went through the
pockets and withdrew her pocket-watch. She snapped the cover open and exhaled.
"Oh, thank God. I forgot this was in there."

"Is it still working?" Kira asked. Hannah nodded.
"Good. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

Hannah smiled. "Let's hope it's not the only thing."

"In a few minutes?" Kira asked. She was still trembling
from her orgasm, and the thought of doing it again so soon made her afraid she
would never stop shaking.

"Sure," Hannah said. She put the watch on the desk
and lay her head back on Kira's chest.

Kira stroked Hannah's hair and listened to her breathe. Her
mantra had worked once again. She had decided she would rather feel bad than
stay safe, and it had worked out wonderfully. She had taken a leap, and she
wasn't sorry. But she knew her 'better sorry than safe' didn't work. She wasn't
sorry, not even a little bit of her could be said to be apologetic. But laying
there, all but nude and sweating in the aftermath of sex, her lover breathing
slowly on top of her, she knew that she was also in no way safe.

She kissed the top of Hannah's head and said, "Hannah."

"Mm."

"Are you falling asleep?"

"Mm-hmm." She snuggled closer and kissed Kira's
breast.

"We should go upstairs," Kira suggested.

Hannah lifted her head and reluctantly separated herself from
Kira's body. She moved to Kira's feet, untied her shoes and took them off. She
sat them next to her high heels, then pulled Kira's pants off. Kira suddenly
found herself completely naked and, for the first time in a long time, completely
unashamed. She held out her hands and Hannah gripped them. She pulled Kira up,
and Kira pressed herself against Hannah. Unlike Kira, Hannah was still wearing
her skirt. Kira brushed her hand down Hannah's cheek, pressed her thumb to Hannah's
lips and then kissed her. She had to stand on her toes, since Hannah was slightly
taller then her, but she found that they fit together very well.

She stepped back, linked her fingers with Hannah's, and turned
to lead her up the stairs.